Background/Objectives: Microsurgical clipping has traditionally been considered a standard treatment for middle cerebral artery (MCA) aneurysms. Recently, a caseload reduction related to improved endovascular treatment options has occurred in cerebrovascular neurosurgery. Therefore, studies that report the clinical and radiological outcomes after clipping are highly warranted. Methods: Patients with an unruptured MCA bifurcation aneurysm, who were surgically treated at the Department of Neurosurgery in Linz between 2002 and 2019, were included in this study. Clinical and radiological outcome parameters were evaluated for each patient. Results: Overall, 272 patients were eligible for inclusion. Complete aneurysm occlusion was demonstrated in 266 (99.3%) of the 268 (98.5%) patients who underwent postoperative digital subtraction angiography. In six (2.2%) patients, a permanent new neurological deficit (pNND) persisted after treatment. Intraoperative aneurysm rupture was a significant factor (p = 0.0049) in the logistic regression. At the last follow-up, only two patients (0.7%) had an unfavorable outcome (mRS > 2). More recent surgeries were associated with fewer cases of pNND (p = 0.009). A transient new neurological deficit occurred in 13 patients (4.8%), with aneurysm size being a significant risk factor (p = 0.009). Surgical site infections were reported in four patients (1.5%), with patient age (p = 0.039) and time (p = 0.001) being significant factors. Two patients died (0.7%) perioperatively and two patients (0.7%) needed a retreatment in the long-term follow-up. Conclusions: The findings indicate that microsurgical clipping is a safe procedure with minimal need for retreatment. It achieves a high occlusion rate while maintaining a very low rate of adverse outcomes. Continuous intraoperative enhancements over time have contributed to a progressive improvement in clinical outcomes in recent years. This trend is exemplified by the absence of detectable pNND in the era of ICG angiography. Consequently, these data support the conclusion that microsurgical clipping should still be considered an appropriate treatment option for unruptured MCA bifurcation aneurysms.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) is commonly managed through burr hole surgery. Routine follow-up using computed tomography (CT) imaging is frequently used at many institutions, contributing to significant radiation exposure. This study evaluates the feasibility, safety, and reliability of trans-burr hole sonography as an alternative postoperative imaging modality, aiming to reduce radiation exposure by decreasing the frequency of CT scans. METHODS: We conducted a prospective pilot study on 20 patients who underwent burr hole surgery for CSDH. Postoperative imaging included both CT and sonographic examinations through the burr hole. We assessed the ability to measure residual subdural fluid thickness under the burr hole sonographically compared with CT, the occurrence of complications, and the potential factors affecting sonographic image quality. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to demonstrate relationships between CT and ultrasound and axial and coronal ultrasound. RESULTS: Sonography through the burr hole was feasible in 73.5% of cases, providing measurements of residual fluid that closely paralleled CT findings, with an average discrepancy of 1.2 mm for axial and 1.4 mm for coronal sonographic views. A strong positive correlation was found between axial and coronal ultrasound (r = 0.955), CT and axial ultrasound (r = 0.936), and CT and coronal ultrasound (r = 0.920). The primary obstacle for sonographic imaging was the presence of air within the burr hole or the subdural space, which typically resolved over time after surgery. CONCLUSION: Trans-burr hole sonography emerges as a promising technique for postoperative monitoring of CSDH, with the potential to safely reduce reliance on CT scans and associated radiation exposure in selected patients. Our results support further investigation into the extended use of sonography during the follow-up phase. Prospective multicenter studies are recommended to establish the method's efficacy and to explore strategies for minimizing air presence postsurgery.

OBJECTIVE Contemporary oncological paradigms for adjuvant treatment of low- and intermediate -grade gliomas are often guided by a limited array of parameters, overlooking the dynamic nature of the disease. The authors' aim was to develop a comprehensive multivariate glioma growth model based on multicentric data, to facilitate more individualized therapeutic strategies. METHODS Random slope models with subject -specific random intercepts were fitted to a retrospective cohort of grade II and III gliomas from the database at Kepler University Hospital (n = 191) to predict future mean tumor diameters. Deep learning-based radiomics was used together with a comprehensive clinical dataset and evaluated on an external prospectively collected validation cohort from University Hospital Zurich (n = 9). Prediction quality was assessed via mean squared prediction error. RESULTS A mean squared prediction error of 0.58 cm for the external validation cohort was achieved, indicating very good prognostic value. The mean +/- SD time to adjuvant therapy was 28.7 +/- 43.3 months and 16.1 +/- 14.6 months for the training and validation cohort, respectively, with a mean of 6.2 +/- 5 and 3.6 +/- 0.7, respectively, for number of observations. The observed mean tumor diameter per year was 0.38 cm (95% CI 0.25-0.51) for the training cohort, and 1.02 cm (95% CI 0.78-2.82) for the validation cohort. Glioma of the superior frontal gyrus showed a higher rate of tumor growth than insular glioma. Oligodendroglioma showed less pronounced growth, anaplastic astrocytoma-unlike anaplastic oligodendroglioma-was associated with faster tumor growth. Unlike the impact of extent of resection, isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) had negligible influence on tumor growth. Inclusion of radiomics variables significantly enhanced the prediction performance of the random slope model used. CONCLUSIONS The authors developed an advanced statistical model to predict tumor volumes both pre- and postoperatively, using comprehensive data prior to the initiation of adjuvant therapy. Using radiomics enhanced the precision of the prediction models. Whereas tumor extent of resection and topology emerged as influential factors in tumor growth, the IDH status did not. This study emphasizes the imperative of advanced computational methods in refining personal- ized low-grade glioma treatment, advocating a move beyond traditional paradigms.

BACKGROUND: Chronic posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus often arises following spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Timely identification of patients predisposed to develop chronic shunt-dependent hydrocephalus may significantly enhance clinical outcomes. METHODS: We performed an analysis of 510 SAH patients treated at our institution between 2013 and 2018. Clinical and radiological variables, including age, sex, Hunt & Hess grade, Fisher Score, external ventricular drainage placement, central nervous system infection, aneurysm characteristics, and treatment modalities, were evaluated. Supervised machine learning (ML) models, trained and compared using Python and scikit-learn, were employed to predict chronic shunt-dependent hydrocephalus. Model performance was rigorously assessed through repeated cross-validation. To facilitate transparency and collaboration, we publicly released the dataset and code on GitHub (https://github.com/RISCSoftware/shuntclf) and developed an interactive web application (https:// huggingface.co/spaces/risc42/shuntclf). RESULTS: Among the evaluated ML models, logistic regression exhibited superior performance, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.819 and an area under the precision-recall curve of 0.482, along with the highest F1 score of 0.473. Although the balanced accuracy scores of the models were generally proximate, ranging from 0.735 to 0.764, logistic regression consistently outperforms others in key metrics such as area under the receiver operating characteristic curve and area under the precision-recall curve. Conversely, female gender and absence of aneurysm within the anterior communicating artery were associated with reduced shunt requirement likelihood. CONCLUSIONS: ML models, including logistic regression, demonstrate strong predictive capability for early

Background: The integration of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT-4, is transforming healthcare. ChatGPT’s potential to assist in decision-making for complex cases, such as spinal metastasis treatment, is promising but widely untested. Especially in cancer patients who develop spinal metastases, precise and personalized treatment is essential. This study examines ChatGPT-4’s performance in treatment planning for spinal metastasis cases compared to experienced spine surgeons. Materials and Methods: Five spine metastasis cases were randomly selected from recent literature. Consequently, five spine surgeons and ChatGPT-4 were tasked with providing treatment recommendations for each case in a standardized manner. Responses were analyzed for frequency distribution, agreement, and subjective rater opinions. Results: ChatGPT’s treatment recommendations aligned with the majority of human raters in 73% of treatment choices, with moderate to substantial agreement on systemic therapy, pain management, and supportive care. However, ChatGPT’s recommendations tended towards generalized statements, with raters noting its generalized answers. Agreement among raters improved in sensitivity analyses excluding ChatGPT, particularly for controversial areas like surgical intervention and palliative care. Conclusions: ChatGPT shows potential in aligning with experienced surgeons on certain treatment aspects of spinal metastasis. However, its generalized approach highlights limitations, suggesting that training with specific clinical guidelines could potentially enhance its utility in complex case management. Further studies are necessary to refine AI applications in personalized healthcare decision-making.

Background Anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) is a well-established surgical treatment option for various diseases of the lumbar spine, including spondylolisthesis. This study aimed to evaluate the postoperative correction of spondylolisthesis and restoration of lumbar and segmental lordosis after ALIF. Methods Patients with spondylolisthesis who underwent ALIF between 2013 and 2019 were retrospectively assessed. We assessed the following parameters pre-and postoperatively (6-months follow-up): Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), lumbar lordosis (LL), segmental lordosis (SL), L4/S1 lordosis, and degree of spondylolisthesis. Results 96 patients were included. In 84 cases (87.50%), additional dorsal instrumentation was performed. The most frequent diagnosis was isthmic spondylolisthesis (73.96%). VAS was reduced postoperatively, from 70 to 40, as was ODI (50% to 32%). LL increased from 59.15° to 64.45°, as did SL (18.95° to 28.55°) and L4/S1 lordosis (37.90° to 44.00°). Preoperative spondylolisthesis was 8.90 mm and was reduced to 6.05 mm postoperatively. Relative spondylolisthesis was 21.63% preoperatively and 13.71% postoperatively. All clinical and radiological improvements were significant (all p < 0.001). No significant difference considering the lordosis values nor spondylolisthesis was found between patients who underwent ALIF surgery without dorsal instrumentation and patients who received additional dorsal instrumentation. Venous laceration was the most frequent complication (10.42%). Conclusions With ALIF, good clinical results and safe and effective reduction of spondylolisthesis and restoration of lordosis can be achieved. Additional dorsal instrumentation does not significantly affect postoperative lordosis or spondylolisthesis. Individual vascular anatomy must be reviewed preoperatively before considering ALIF.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:In high-grade glioma (HGG) surgery, intraoperative MRI (iMRI) has traditionally been the gold standard for maximizing tumor resection and improving patient outcomes. However, recent Level 1 evidence juxtaposes the efficacy of iMRI and 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA), questioning the continued justification of iMRI because of its associated costs and extended surgical duration. Nonetheless, drawing from our clinical observations, we postulated that a subset of intricate HGGs may continue to benefit from the adjunctive application of iMRI. METHODS:In a prospective study of 73 patients with HGG, 5-ALA was the primary technique for tumor delineation, complemented by iMRI to detect residual contrast-enhanced regions. Suboptimal 5-ALA efficacy was defined when (1) iMRI detected contrast-enhanced remnants despite 5-ALA's indication of a gross total resection or (2) surgeons observed residual fluorescence, contrary to iMRI findings. Radiomic features from preoperative MRIs were extracted using a U2-Net deep learning algorithm. Binary logistic regression was then used to predict compromised 5-ALA performance. RESULTS:Resections guided solely by 5-ALA achieved an average removal of 93.14% of contrast-enhancing tumors. This efficacy increased to 97% with iMRI integration, albeit not statistically significant. Notably, for tumors with suboptimal 5-ALA performance, iMRI's inclusion significantly improved resection outcomes ( P -value: .00013). The developed deep learning-based model accurately pinpointed these scenarios, and when enriched with radiomic parameters, showcased high predictive accuracy, as indicated by a Nagelkerke R 2 of 0.565 and a receiver operating characteristic of 0.901. CONCLUSION:Our machine learning-driven radiomics approach predicts scenarios where 5-ALA alone may be suboptimal in HGG surgery compared with its combined use with iMRI. Although 5-ALA typically yields favorable results, our analyses reveal that HGGs characterized by significant volume, complex morphology, and left-sided location compromise the effectiveness of resections relying exclusively on 5-ALA. For these intricate cases, we advocate for the continued relevance of iMRI.

Over the last few decades, the number of lumbar interbody fusion surgeries performed has been constantly increasing, with transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) being one of the most common surgical techniques. Due to easy accessibility, patients frequently use YouTube to obtain information on health-related issues. Consequently, online video platforms may be a valuable tool for patient education. The aim of this study was to assess the quality, reliability, and comprehensiveness of online videos on TLIF. We screened 180 videos on YouTube, yielding a total of 30 videos that met the inclusion criteria. These videos were evaluated using Global Quality Scale, DISCERN reliability tool, and JAMA Benchmark Score, and assessed in regard to their comprehensiveness and coverage of relevant aspects. At the time of rating, the videos had between 9188 and 1,530,408 views and between 0 and 3344 likes. The median rater assessment for all videos was "moderate quality". GQS and subjective grades showed a moderate to strong statistically significant association with views and likes. Considering this association of GQS and subjective grade with views and likes, these criteria could be used by laypersons to identify good-quality content. Nevertheless, there is an urgent need for peer-reviewed content that covers all of the relevant aspects.

Machine learning (ML) has revolutionized data processing in recent years. This study presents the results of the first prediction models based on a long-term monocentric data registry of patients with microsurgically treated unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIAs) using a temporal train-test split. Temporal train-test splits allow to simulate prospective validation, and therefore provide more accurate estimations of a model’s predictive quality when applied to future patients. ML models for the prediction of the Glasgow outcome scale, modified Rankin Scale (mRS), and new transient or permanent neurological deficits (output variables) were created from all UIA patients that underwent microsurgery at the Kepler University Hospital Linz (Austria) between 2002 and 2020 (n = 466), based on 18 patient- and 10 aneurysm-specific preoperative parameters (input variables). Train-test splitting was performed with a temporal split for outcome prediction in microsurgical therapy of UIA. Moreover, an external validation was conducted on an independent external data set (n = 256) of the Department of Neurosurgery, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf. In total, 722 aneurysms were included in this study. A postoperative mRS > 2 was best predicted by a quadratic discriminant analysis (QDA) estimator in the internal test set, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC-AUC) of 0.87 ± 0.03 and a sensitivity and specificity of 0.83 ± 0.08 and 0.71 ± 0.07, respectively. A Multilayer Perceptron predicted the post- to preoperative mRS difference > 1 with a ROC-AUC of 0.70 ± 0.02 and a sensitivity and specificity of 0.74 ± 0.07 and 0.50 ± 0.04, respectively. The QDA was the best model for predicting a permanent new neurological deficit with a ROC-AUC of 0.71 ± 0.04 and a sensitivity and specificity of 0.65 ± 0.24 and 0.60 ± 0.12, respectively. Furthermore, these models performed significantly better than the classic logistic regression models (p < 0.0001). The present results showed good performance in predicting functional and clinical outcomes after microsurgical therapy of UIAs in the internal data set, especially for the main outcome parameters, mRS and permanent neurological deficit. The external validation showed poor discrimination with ROC-AUC values of 0.61, 0.53 and 0.58 respectively for predicting a postoperative mRS > 2, a pre- and postoperative difference in mRS > 1 point and a GOS < 5. Therefore, generalizability of the models could not be demonstrated in the external validation. A SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) analysis revealed that this is due to the most important features being distributed quite differently in the internal and external data sets. The implementation of newly available data and the merging of larger databases to form more broad-based predictive models is imperative in the future.

Objective: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) are essential in surgeons’ armamentarium for pain relief and antiphlogistic effects. However, spine surgeons are concerned about the drugs’ impact on coagulation, fearing hemodynamic instability due to blood loss and neurological complications due to postoperative hematoma. Furthermore, there are no clear guidelines for the use of these drugs. Materials and methods: In this retrospective subgroup analysis of a prospective observational study, we investigated 181 patients who underwent minimally invasive spinal fusions in degenerative lumbar spine pathologies. 83 patients were given NSAID perioperatively, 54 of which were female and 29 male. Of these patients who took NSAID, 39 were on NSAID until at least one day before surgery or perioperatively, whilst the others discontinued their NSAID medication at least three days before surgery. Differences in perioperative blood loss, as well as complication rates between patients with and without NSAID treatment, were investigated. Results: A significantly higher amount of blood loss during surgery and the monitoring period was encountered in patients whose spine was fused in more than one level, regardless of whether NSAID medication was taken or not and up until what point. Furthermore, it was found that taking NSAID medication had no effect on the incidence of postoperative epidural hematomas. Conclusion: Perioperatively taking NSAID medication does not increase blood loss or the incidence of postoperative hematoma in patients undergoing minimally invasive lumbar spinal fusion surgery.

Abstract Study design Monocentric, prospective, observational study. Objective The clinical relevance of bacterial colonization of intervertebral discs is controversial. This study aimed to determine a possible relationship between bacterial and viral colonization and low-grade infection of the discs. Methods We investigated 447 disc samples from 392 patients. Microbiological culture was used to examine the samples for bacterial growth, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used for detection of herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 (HSV-1, HSV-2) and Cytomegalovirus (CMV), and histopathological analysis was used to detect signs of inflammation. The results were compared between subgroups organized according to gender, age, location of the samples, surgical approach, preoperative C-reactive protein (CRP), preoperative and 6 months postoperative Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and Neck Disability Index (NDI), and Modic changes (MC) of the corresponding endplates. Also, we assessed the occurrence of postoperative infections within 6 months. Results Microbiological culture was positive in 38.78% of the analyzed intervertebral discs. Altogether, 180 bacteria were isolated. Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CONS) (23.41%) and Cutibacterium acnes (18.05%) were the most frequently detected microorganisms. None of HSV-1, HSV-2, or CMV were detected. Male patients (p = 0.00036) and cervical segments (p = 0.00001) showed higher rates of positive culture results. Ventral surgical approaches ( p < 0.001) and Type 2 MC (p = 0.0127) were significantly associated with a positive microbiological result ( p< 0.001). Neither pre- nor postoperative ODI and NDI are associated with positive culture results. In 4 (1.02%) patients, postoperative spondylodiscitis occurred. Conclusions With 447 segments from 392 patients, we present one of the largest studies to date. While disc degeneration caused by HSV-1, HSV-2, and CMV seems unlikely, we found positive microbiological culture results in 38.78% of all discs. The role of local skin flora and sample contamination should be the focus of further investigations. Level of Evidence III. Trial registration: The study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (ID: NCT04712487, https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/study/NCT04712487 ).

Background: One of the most frequent complications of spinal surgery is accidental dural tears (ADTs). Minimal access surgical techniques (MAST) have been described as a promising approach to minimizing such complications. ADTs have been studied extensively in connection with open spinal surgery, but there is less literature on minimally invasive spinal surgery (MISS). Materials and Methods: We reviewed 187 patients who had undergone degenerative lumbar spinal surgery using minimally invasive spinal fusions techniques. We analyzed the influence of age, Body Mass Index (BMI), smoking, diabetes, and previous surgery on the rate of ADTs in MISS. Results: Twenty-two patients (11.764%) suffered from an ADT. We recommended bed rest for two and a half to 5 days, depending on the type of repair required and the amount of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage. We could not find any statistically significant correlation between ADTs and age (p = 0.34,), BMI (p = 0.92), smoking (p = 0.46), and diabetes (p = 0.71). ADTs were significantly more frequent in cases of previous surgery (p < 0.001). None of the patients developed a transcutaneous CSF leak or post-operative infection. Conclusions: The frequency of ADTs in MISS appears comparable to that encountered when using open surgical techniques. Additionally, MAST produces less dead space along the corridor to the spine. Such reduced dead space may not be enough for pseudomeningocele to occur, cerebrospinal fluid to accumulate, and fistula to form. MAST, therefore, provides a certain amount of protection.